Old South Meeting House

On the morning of December 16, 1773, nearly five thousand locals met at Old South Meeting House, awaiting word from Governor Thomas Hutchinson on whether he would permit the withdrawal of three ships in Boston Harbor containing taxed tea. When a message was received that the ships would not be removed, Samuel Adams announced, “This meeting can do no more to save the country!”. His simple declaration triggered the Boston Tea Party. Considered to be the first major act of rebellion preceding the Revolutionary War, it was a carefully planned event wherein one hundred men, some dressed in Native American garb, solemnly threw enough British tea into the harbour to make 24 million cuppas.